F1 Manager 2022, review of the expected return of Formula 1 management

Summer Formula 1 Manager 2022 review this is a real honor because it has been an endless wait for fans of the highest automotive and management category, to say the least. The previous manager with official license (excluding mobile games) was EA Sports’ forgettable video game of the same name in 2000. Liberty Media’s work, a star and strip producer who owned the circus for several years, was required by Bernie Ecclestone to bring Formula 1 to the level of attention among the general public, which had only been pushed by Michael Schumacher and Ferrari at the turn of the millennium.

Sure, the drivers are true superstars, but team bosses like Toto Wolff, Christian Horner and Günther Steiner have now also tapped into the collective imagination, thanks to the Drive To Survive series. If one of your forbidden dreams is to sit in Mattia Binotto’s chair and torpedo Inaki Rueda on your first day of work, know that a) you’re not the only one and b) Formula 1 Manager 2022 is the game for you.

Classic revisited

Frontier Developments is a developer who has shown that he knows how to deal with management systems from Planet Zoo to Jurassic World Evolution 2. There are many works that testify to the talent of this studio. For the Formula 1 Executive, he drew inspiration from major cornerstones of the genre, starting with the patriarch. Grand Prix Manager To finish with the latest Motorsport Manager.

The game is devoted to the classics two macro phases: race weekend and the tighter management section, which we’ll get into details later. From the main desk, you can access eleven submenus on the canonical aspects of an F1 team: from the management of drivers to engineers and mechanics, not forgetting the crucial area of ​​research and development you can imagine, updates for your own car. The system in which the current caps on the budget are applied is very interesting, but perhaps very simple and instructive: even when managing the most generous team, it is necessary to choose wisely which areas to intervene; The regulation is very restrictive in terms of the costs and time allowed inside the wind tunnel. Obviously, the updates will be “textual” only, that is, they will not cause any aesthetic changes to the car. The fact that even stable build improvements like the Heliport are not displayed graphically is a bit less obvious as an option available in games over two decades ago.

this race weekend it gives the impression that it is the part where the efforts of the developers are most intense. You can personally follow all the preparation stages in terms of the Grand Prix (three free practices and qualifying) or send them to the CPU, which will simulate it in a few seconds. It’s possible to speed up time in the end, but it’s possible not to change the duration of the event and, more importantly, not even save money during a race: make sure you have enough time before you start the GP.

Three hours of free training (excluding events where sprint qualifications are made), just like in Motorsport Manager, better trim and knowing the behavior of compounds and therefore much less tedious than originally thought. In addition to examining strategies, it is possible to change the driver’s attitude during the race by acting on three elements: aggression towards tires, fuel economy (the famous lift and coast), and ERS management (the equally famous “I need more power! “Hamiltonian memory).

Long live the FIA

There Officially licensed by the FIA It’s obviously the most important aspect of F1 Manager 2022, but paradoxically it also represents one of its main limitations. The impossibility of building a team from scratch may represent an unforgivable shortcoming for many players, but even the costumes updated to the last Grand Prix come with a price: no option to actually change the look of the car or deal with sponsors except for general purposes that don’t concern a particular company. There’s no mention of fuel or tire supply, but some crews can swap out engines, but only choose from four manufacturers in the business.

On the other hand, however, you can rent them all. pilots and technicians not only of the biggest championship, but also of the smaller Formula 2 and Formula 3 series. But it’s a little strange to see Bottas (87) on par with Sainz and Perez, but better than Russell and Norris (86), Alonso (85, scandal) and Ricciardo (84). The stables also have something to complain about: it’s not clear why Ferrari (rated best single-seater) has a headquarters the same size as Alfa Romeo, the top team despite being fourth on the grid. difficulty level. high.

Either way, all those stats translate pretty well into the racing simulation. We know how difficult it is to faithfully return values ​​to the starting table. From this perspective, Frontier Developments’ work certainly represents one person. a good foundation to start. The undercut and overcut tactics work as expected, as the compound yield is pretty faithful. Creating a strategy in line with what actually happens is often successful.

They do not occur at the same time unlikely situations Bulk withdrawals and contacts were also extremely rare, at least in our simulations, due to technical problems. However, there are some aspects that require further refinement: for example, Bottas’ indifferent passing of a hard nut like Perez’s, or the fact that two cars swapped places twenty times, taking advantage of each other’s DRS, is hardly believable. ten rounds. Not to mention “free” spins from top drivers like Hamilton.

chrome plated

From a technical standpoint, the title grows with its ups and downs. There representation of the race it is undoubtedly the flagship of the entire production. The footage is televised and more than once you’ll get the impression you’re attending a race on a Sunday. Formula 1 cars mirror their real-world counterparts, and drivers’ faces are rendered with a good level of realism. Unfortunately, however, there are some blemishes that spoil the overall effect, such as the “side” elements that look a bit fake and lifeless. This is the case of motionless Ferris wheels, but also the complete absence of mechanics in the pit lane. There are also bugs with cockpits that are the same among all pilots. A particularly squeaky flaw in Williams, which is the single-seater that fixes the screen to the trunk and instead takes the same approach as all the other teams in F1 Manager 2022. Some textures are clearly in low resolution (see sponsors on Halo), and the steering wheel suffers from an annoying blur: In short, the view from the aerial binoculars, although scenographic, is absolutely perfect. We found the front wing camera only useful for demonstration, the more interesting the rear camera is, allowing you to understand how close the pilot below is and ultimately giving you indications of how to use the ERS.

disappointing sound: An unthinkable interpretation in Italian (we expected Vanzini and Genè) is limited to the presentation of the circuit and a few rambling exclamations at the track exits. Thus, the harmless cutting of the runway boundaries is interpreted as a clash over obstacles, complete with a direction framing the helpless mechanics. Even the dialogues between the track engineer and the driver are reduced to the basics: Push as hard as you can, save on tires, increase lift and docking, all met with a concise “Copy”.

There game mode it’s only one (not multiplayer for now), but the most serious problem is that you can’t choose a single event, so the only way is to start a career with all the suggested tracks in the same series of reality. There is also a lack of ad-hoc scenarios that would be welcome to enhance the diversity of the proposal.